This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from an application for FRONT DOOR OF A LIQUID ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTER earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Nov. 29, 1999 and there duly assigned Serial No. 53559/1999.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet type electrophotographic image printer, and more particularly, to the wet type electrophotographic image printer having a front door rotatably mounted on a printer body of the apparatus to be opened and closed for repair and replacement of various kinds of components contained in the printer body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing machine such as a laser printer, a duplicating apparatus, etc. includes various kinds of components installed in a main body of the printing machine. Sidewalls enclose the main body is while a bracket is attached to the components for a printing operation. Once the bracket is fit into the components, and connectors such as bolts or pins couple the bracket to the components, the sidewalls cover the main body. The components worn out by the repeated printing operations are periodically replaced, and some broken components should be immediately repaired. When the repair or the replacement of the components is needed, one of the side walls is detached from the main body, and the bracket is removed from the components. After the repair or the replacement of the components, the bracket is attached to the components, and then the sidewall is fixed to the main body.
The sidewalls, however, may not be properly attached to the main body unless the bracket is precisely located on the components. Moreover, if one of the connectors connecting the bracket to the components and the sidewalls to the main body is lost, the bracket and the sidewall can not be accurately attached to the components and the main body, respectively. During the repair and the replacement of the components, the bracket, sidewalls, and connectors should be kept in an area adjacent to the printing machine and used for coupling the bracket and the side walls to the components and main body after the printing machine is fixed. Even if a small door is attached to one of the sidewalls, the sidewall should be detached from the main body in order to remove the bracket from the components before the components is replaced or repaired since the bracket is disposed between the components and the sidewalls. This features of the printing machine is very complicated to couple the bracket and the sidewall to the components and the main body, respectively, and it takes too much time to repair and replace the components.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing machine able to both support components installed in a main body of the printing machine and covering the main body.
It is another object to provide a printing machine able to quickly repair and replace components contained in a main body of the printing machine by easily attaching and detaching a bracket and a sidewall from the components and the main body, respectively.
It is yet another object to provide a printing machine able to precisely couple a bracket to components installed in a main body of the printing machine and couple a sidewall to the main body after repair and replacement of the components.
It is still another object to provide a printing machine able to easily open a door mounted on a sidewall of a main body of the printing machine and a bracket mounted on the door.
It is a further object to provide a printing machine able to precisely close a door against a sidewall of a main body of the printing machine while a bracket attached inside the door supports components installed in the main body.
It is also an object to provide a printing machine able to reduce the time required to repair and replace components installed in a main body of the printing machine.
These and other objects may be achieved by providing a wet type electrophotographic image printing machine including a door apparatus mounted on one of sidewalls of a main body of the printing machine, a door frame of the door apparatus rotatably mounted a front side of the sidewalls, a hinge unit disposed between the door frame and the sidewall, and a pressure-unit fixing bracket mounted on an inner surface of the door frame, rotating along with the door frame, supporting various types of components and pressure units such as a backup roll shaft of a photosensitive belt, a shaft of a developing roll, a shaft of a squeezing roll, etc., and preventing interference between the components and the pressure units. The printing machine includes a buffer unit disposed between the inside of the door frame and the pressure-unit fixing bracket to movably mount the pressure- unit fixing bracket on the door frame.
The buffer unit includes at least four guiding holes formed in the door frame, guide protrusions formed on the pressure-unit fixing bracket to correspond to the four guiding holes, anti-bolt pins inserted through each of the guiding holes and engaged with the ends of the guiding protrusions, and compressing coil springs engaged with each of the guiding protrusions for elastically supporting the pressure-unit fixing bracket toward the door frame in a manner that the pressure-unit fixing bracket is spaced from the door frame at a certain distance.
A door-side hinge bracket is attached to the upper side of the door frame. The door-side hinge bracket has hinge protrusions to be inserted into the hinge holes of a pair of body-side hinge brackets adhered to the body of the printing machine. A locking/unlocking unit is installed at the other side of the door frame and locks and unlocks the door frame to and from the main body of the printing machine. The lock/unlocking unit includes hooks formed at the upper and lower ends to be fixed by a hooking locker attached to the body of the printing machine, a locking bar rotatably installed at a pair of fixing pieces attached to the door frame, a spring for elastically supporting the locking bar for rotational movement thereof to hook the hook with the locker, and a handle formed at a center portion of the locking bar.
Position-determining holes are formed on both sides of the pressure-unit fixing bracket. The pair of guide pins installed at the main body of the printing machine are inserted into the position determining holes while the door is closed, and then the pressure-unit fixing bracket can be fit to the exact position of the main body of the printing machine.